Dows school building to be sold

C-G board also votes to give playground, field to city

July 2, 2014

CLARION - The Clarion-Goldfield Board of Education voted unanimously to approve the sale of the Dows Elementary School building.

The vote came during a special meeting held Monday at the Clarion-Goldfield Elementary School.

Starting with the 2014-2015 school year, the Dows Community School District will consolidate with Clarion-Goldfield, creating the Clarion-Goldfield-Dows Community School District.

Clarion-Goldfield Superintendent Robert Olson said there has been much discussion about what to do with the Dows Elementary School building, which will not be used following the consolidation.

However, during discussions some concern had been raised by community members.

"What concerned me in Dows is that it was perceived as being secretive," Olson said. "That's far from the truth."

About six community members attended the special meeting Monday, none of whom spoke.

"When we look at our decision, we look at ourselves as representing the community," Olson said.

The district had considered different options, including tearing down the building. Olson said the school decided against that option because it would have been too expensive.

Ultimately, the board decided to sell the building to Alex Mortenson, a Pioneer seed dealer.

In addition to the vote to sell the building, the board also approved a motion to give the playground and athletic fields to the city of Dows.

"When people are looking at a community to move to, they look at all the amenities in town," Olson said. "Any given night, there's usually a group of teens playing soccer on those fields. This would be a positive amenity for the town."

He added that he had spoken to the Dows City Council, which was unanimous in its support of the decision to receive the playground and fields.

"I recommend that we gift both parcels of land to the city," he said, which was approved unanimously by the board.

The superintendent added that, for now, the school will take no action on the parking lot. The board will decide what, if anything, it will do with the lot at a later date.

"We can get rid of it in the future, but we might have use for it," he said. "Right now there's nothing there to maintain."